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More than 500 people across the Peninsula are pressuring elected officials to take action in making highways 35, 84 and 9 safer. In the last five years, 26 people have died on these curving mountain roads, especially near the Four Corners intersection in Woodside. Locals say they’re fed up with drivers treating the two-lane highways like a racetrack.
After years of witnessing or experiencing accidents, petitioners from San Francisco to San Jose are calling for safer road designs, stronger traffic enforcement and public acknowledgement of the dangers of these roads from Caltrans, Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) and state Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park).
“Safe Corridor Initiative for Highway 35, 84, and 9,” a petition started by Woodside resident Walker Wells, has already garnered hundreds of personal testimonials. Signers have shared stories about them or their loved ones getting injured on the highways, the concerns they have about their children’s safety and why they stopped bicycling in the area.
“The man I was planning to spend the rest of my life with suffered a severe head injury on his motorcycle on Highway 84 in a hit-and-run. He survived but never recovered; he was in his early 40s but the accident made him an old man,” wrote Janet Herringshaw of Pescadero in one of the testimonials.
Wells, who is also a member of the Woodside Circulation Committee, began researching the number of accidents and fatalities in 2025 when cyclist Eric Biron died after being hit by a pickup truck at the intersection of highways 35 and 84, also known as Four Corners. He told The Almanac that Biron’s blood stained the pavement for weeks afterward.
On weekends, Four Corners draws hundreds of car enthusiasts and motorcyclists. Wells said the area has become the “watering hole for the racetrack.” The rise of car clubs and social media accounts dedicated to roadside photography appear to have encouraged a greater number of people to seek out these thoroughfares for joyrides.
The recent death of East Palo Alto cyclist Jakub Solovsky, a member of the Western Wheelers, has sparked the recent uptick in public advocacy. Solovsky died at the scene on Saturday, July 11, after a speeding Porsche failed to navigate a curve in the road and hit him on Highway 35, according to California Highway Patrol.
Petitioners sent their emails to dozens of recipients, including news outlets, Caltrans staff and local and state officials, calling for the adoption of solutions. As of Aug. 11, 5,000 people have visited the Safe Corridor Initiative website, according to Wells.
When creating the petition, Wells said he had an intuition that there were others in the community who were concerned about the increasing fatalities, but had nowhere to voice them. The site was intended to “centralize the voice” and allow people to share their stories and provide feedback to public officials in order to drive change.
Wells added that the issue is multijurisdictional, making it difficult for public agencies to take responsibility and accountability for making changes. Caltrans, a state agency, controls the highways, which bisect San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and run through numerous towns, including Woodside, Portola Valley and La Honda.
In October 2025, Caltrans hosted a public meeting at Woodside’s Town Hall to present its $500,000 project to install a four-way stop at Four Corners. During public comments, the Caltrans team heard from dozens of residents who shared suggestions. Construction is set to begin this fall, but none of the community’s feedback was implemented, said Wells.
In response to petitioners emails, Caltrans wrote that it would “coordinate with elected officials, local jurisdictions and partner agencies to hold a community meeting to provide an update on ongoing safety efforts, answer questions, and gather feedback on safety strategies for these corridors.”
San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller has been an active voice in addressing safety issues on the highways. Three years ago, his office formed the South Coast Traffic Advisory Panel which released a report in May with safety recommendations for Caltrans to adopt.
The report suggests short-term plans such as safe turnouts, signage and stronger enforcement. Long term recommendations include speed limit reductions, blinking warning lights near pedestrian crossings, warning signs, textured pavement and painted crosswalks.
Mueller said his office is looking into increased fines, impounding cars and boosting enforcement with traps. He also plans to ask his colleagues on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to officially adopt the recommendations and submit them to the state.
“We’re going to get very aggressive with those who are violating the law out there and putting people’s lives at risk,” Mueller said.
According to Mueller, the South Coast Traffic Advisory Panel report has been shared with Becker and Berman, who have sent a letter to Caltrans asking for the task force’s suggestions to be implemented. He added that Berman also backs the panel’s recommendation to install speed cameras on Highway 35.
“While most users travel these routes responsibly, a small number of reckless drivers continue to treat this area as a race track, creating unacceptable risks for everyone else. We must do more to ensure that every bicyclist, pedestrian, and driver can share the road safely,” Berman said in a written statement.
“Becker and Berman need to push on this to get the funding and attention it deserves,” Wells added. “I’m trying to build a tool that allows people to direct their frustration to the people who need to know about it, and these people are angry, and they’re frustrated about all the talk and nothing happening.”
